Process of treating nickel ores.



ANSON GARDNER BETTS, F TROY, NEW YORK.

PROGESS 0F TREATENQ- NEGWL GEES.

n 923,0oe. flpeeiflcation of Letters Patent. Patented May 25, race.

- Application filed February 23, 1909. Serial No. 179,475.

To all whom it mag concern:

. Be it known that I, ANsoN GARDNER Burrs, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Troy, in'the county of Rensselaer and State ofNewYork, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in Processesies, of which the follownickel-iron alloy, containing any copper or iprecious metal of the ore, and electrolyticpurified nic the alloy, forthe production of el-iron cathodes, which may then be converted intohigh grade nickel-steel by melting with the proper additions.

Hitherto it has'been the practice in producing nickel to throw away theusual large quantity of iron'in the ore, as completely as possible withnot too great loss of nickel, the aim being to make as ure a nickel aspossi- 'ble, which is then a ded to iron to make nickel steel. I havefound that nickel-iron alloys can be refined in a. similar manner to theelectrolytic refining of nickel or iron alone, depositing on thecathodes nickel-iron allo Co per, silver, gold, platinum, etc., in t ecru e alloy remain as an anode slime, from which the valuable metals maybe readily recovered.

The, electrolyte is a solution containing the chlorids, sulfates,fiuosilicates or other suitable salts of both nickel a'ndiron. To. startwith, a solution of the iron salt maybe i used alone, when iron depositson the oathv in the appended claims.

odes in greater proportion than it dissolves from the anodes, untilequilibrium is reached. Cobalt may also be precipitated with iron, orwith nickel and iron, if it is present in the anode. Refined cobalt-ironalloy may be produced in an analogous manner from a crude cobalt-ironanode. These three metals constitute the'iro'n' group as that term isused 'I am aware that crude nickel unavoidably containing some iron hasbeen made by l smelting nickel ores, and the metal has beenelectrolytically refined perhaps producing a cathode metal containing asan undesired impurity a few per cent. of iron, but I do not elieve thatnickel-iron cathodes have been produced in this way containing as muchas say 20% of iron, with the iron present as an intentional and desiredconstituent. There is a tendency to deposit an alloy with about 3 partsof iron to 1 part of nickel, if the solution contains plenty of eachmetal, and it is in motion.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is z.

which consists in smelting the ore to an alloy of iron and nickelcontaining a considerable proportion of iron, and electrolytically reninthe alloy, with a solution containing a nic el' and an iron salt aselectrolyte, producing refined nickel-iron cathode metal containing morethan 20% of iron.

2. The process of treating nickel ores which consists in smelting theore to an alloy containing iron and nickel with considerable iron,electrolytically refining the alloy using as electrolyte, producingrefined nickel-iron cathode metal, and recovering valuable metals fromthe anode slime.

3. .The process of treating an ore containing a metal of the iron group,which consists in smelting to an alloy with another metal of the irongroup, and electrolytically refining the alloy, using an electrolytecontaining a soluble salt of each of such two metals, and

two meta s.

4. The process of treating nickel ores which consists in smelting to analloy cen- .tainin iron, copper and nickel, electrolytioal y refiningthe alloy with a solution of a nickeland an iron salt as electrolyte,recovering copper from the anode residue, and nickel and iron asnickel-iron cathode metal.

5. As a new product, a cathode deposit of nickel and iron containingabout 2 parts of iron to 1 art of nickel.

6. The erein described rocess, consisting a considerable proportion ofiron in an electrolyte containing in solution a nickel and an iron salt,producing refined nickel iron cathode metal containing more than twentyper cent. of iron.

1. The process of treating nickel ores a solution containing a salt ofeach metal in electrolyzing iron-nicke alloy containing producin arefined alloy containing the said 7. The herein described process ofrefining name to this specification in the presence of crude alloycontainingl HIGiIiLiS of tile irofll two subscribing Witnesses.- *roueonsistin in e eetro zin tie sai Y 7* 7 y r zilloy in an eleetfi'olytecontaining a soluble GARDNER BEITS' 5 salt of each metal, producing arefined alloy Witnesses:

eontaining'the metals. I ETHEL B. BARNHISEL, In testimony whereof I havesigned my FREDERICK CLARK.

